61-year-old Rick Nelson is a former boxer. He was also recently in the fight of his life!

Nelson was walking his dog near the Canadian town of Panache this past Sunday (7/10) when he came face-to-face with a pissed off momma black bear.

The mother black bear was protecting her cub in a fight against Nelson. Here's how he describes the incident.

"I sat down on a log, and the bear cub poked its head out of the shrub nearby," Nelson told CBC News. "It was so close, I could touch it. It let out a yelp because I scared the heck out of it.

"I knew right away I was in trouble. It's calling for mommy."

When he saw the bushes rustling in front of him, Nelson looked around for something he could use as a weapon against the momma bear. When he wasn't able to find a rock or stick, he prepared himself the only way he knew how...with a balled up fist!

The mother bear charged Nelson, and stood up on it's hind legs. He tried to strike first, but only grazed it's teeth. The bear responded with a scratch to his chest and face.

Here's where his former boxing prowess really came into play.

"I knew it would swing first with its left, but it would really come with its right because most bears are right-handed," he told CBC News.

Not wanting to wait for that right hand, Nelson reacted.

"I had the perfect shot to take," he said. "I did an underhand, and hit it right in the snout."

When the cub let out another squeal, and began to move along, the mother bear had a decision to make.

"What's this bear going to do? Is it going to follow its cub, or is it going to come after me? It turned around, and it was snorting blood," Nelson said. "It looked at me, and I thought, 'Oh no, here it comes.' But it just turned back around and walked away like nothing ever happened, and followed the cub."

Rick Nelson engaged a black bear in fisticuffs, and lived to tell the tale. Amazing!

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